Austrian Pinot blanc wines: Typicity, wine styles and the influence of different oenological decisions on the volatile profile of wines

Abstract

Pinot blanc is found in all wine regions of Austria. However, it plays an economically subordinate role compared to the most important white grape variety, Grüner Veltliner. The concept of wine typicity and terroir is that the geographical origin and oenological practices, along with the grape variety, make an important contribution to the final expression of the finished wine. The purpose of this study was to discuss different styles of Austrian Pinot blanc wines and to discuss the various wine production decisions in terms of wine stylistics and aromatic profile. 131 commercial Austrian wine samples of the Pinot blanc variety of the 2015 to 2017 vintages were collected and the manufacturer's practices were determined by means of a questionnaire related to the wine styles. Using various GC-SIM-MS methods, more than 100 essential volatile substances were quantified. A trained panel, an expert panel and consumers evaluated the wines based on typicity and quality. 15 typical wines were then assessed on a sensory basis by means of predetermined aroma and wine styles. The four Austrian Pinot blanc wine styles previously discussed and presented by the same authors (citrus (1st style), green apple and green pear (2nd style), ripe yellow apple, quince, cooked pear, bread and honey notes (3rd style), as well as intensive oak notes (4th style)) were able to be partially reproduced by the trained panel. The following three wine styles could be better understood by the consumers: fresh fruity (style A), complex aroma with or without moderate wood (style B) and lots of wood aroma (style C). These styles (A–C) were able to withstand a sensory examination and a discriminant analysis by substance. An oenological guideline could help the producers to achieve the respective style. Austria's wine-growing area is probably too small and the importance of the Pinot blanc variety for the individual areas still too low to support the terroir concept for this grape variety.

Chemosensory Profile of South Tyrolean Pinot Blanc Wines: A Multivariate Regression Approach

“…Despite its widespread national and international production, only a few recent studies on the volatile and sensory profiles of Pinot Blanc wines are available in the literature. The aroma of Austrian Pinot Blanc wines was studied to characterize their typical sensory traits [11]. The authors associated the "pear"aroma to the particular typicity of Austrian Pinot Blanc wines; this aroma was associated with short-and long-chain esters, such as ethyl (E, Z)-2,4-decadienoate and methyl (E)-geranoate [12].…”

Exploring the Typicality, Sensory Space, and Chemical Composition of Swedish Solaris Wines

“…Several studies used alternative names to typicality such as exemplarity [25], representativity [26], or typicity [27]. The reliability of typicality measurements depends on the expertise or familiarity of the tasters with regard to the category at hand as well as on the between-judges agreement [21,22].…”

Aromatypicity of Austrian Pinot Blanc Wines

“…The importance of monoterpenes for the typicity of German Pinot blanc was emphasised by [56]. Higher concentrations of free monoterpenes were associated with the fresh fruity wine type (lemon, green apple, and grapefruit) [58]. It could also be shown that atypical wines of the 2017 vintage had a higher value for the citrus fruit descriptor.…”

“…The determination of the quantitative main aroma compounds, such as relevant higher alcohols, relevant short and medium-chain carboxylic acids, some carbonyl compounds and ester compounds, was carried out using a partial SIDA-HS-SPME-GC-MS method [58].…”